Good-bye Port

Eila has been counting down to her port removal surgery, and today was the day.  This time her surgery was in Eugene (her surgeon had moved there), so we were able to stay over at Grandma and Grandpa's house the night before (and Emilie stayed home with Annikka).  It was a different experience than the children's hospital, not as many toys and things to occupy her time while waiting.  But thankful we brought along the ipad, with a new Charlie Brown movie.

From Nov/Dec2013

Another difference was that they allowed a parent to accompany her into the OR.  So Eila held Joel's hand as she was wheeled away and he waited with her until she was asleep (which was a surprisingly short time).

From Nov/Dec2013

The surgery took less than an hour and everything went well.  Now Eila has 2 ports for her memory box.  Unfortunately she was very unhappy with the nurses and doctors when she woke up -- we could hear her crying and screaming in the waiting room even (although we didn't know it was her at the time).  So they came to get us early, and she did much better once they weren't in her face/space any more.

From Nov/Dec2013

She has a cute little bandage where she used to have a big lump.  The surgeon told us that many cancer kids wear their port scar well, a sign of all they overcome.

From Nov/Dec2013

Another chapter in this story is now complete for Eila, and hopefully these won't be experiences we'll be repeating again.  She goes in for her next oncology check-up in mid-December.

Eila's new bed

... is Annikka's old toddler bed, but Eila couldn't be happier with it.  The girls had slept over at Grandma & Grandpa's house last night, so it was a surprise for her when she got home.  She snuggled into the bed and told us how cozy it is.  Then at bedtime, she didn't even want to be rocked, she just wanted to get straight into her new bed.

From Nov/Dec2013

From Nov/Dec2013

We were very surprised at how quickly she fell asleep; I'm not sure if that was the magic of the new bed or because she and Annikka had too much fun at Grandma & Grandpa's.  But now there are no more cribs at our house!

From Nov/Dec2013

Cheadle Challenge

Joel and our friend Rich decided to run the Cheadle Challenge Adventure Run (it's a 4+ mile race with obstacles).

From Nov/Dec2013

We were able to see them go through the first 4 obstacles; the girls thought the river run was the best.

From Nov/Dec2013

After they emerged from the forest and we were able to give them high-fives (with Rich's wife Tani and daughter Cleo).

From Nov/Dec2013

From Nov/Dec2013

The final obstacle was a mud pit, probably not a fun obstacle for them but the kids loved it!

From Nov/Dec2013

When the crossed the finish line, they announced their names and the girls cheered.  Annikka couldn't stop telling Joel how proud she was of him for running the crazy race.

From Nov/Dec2013

Way to go, Dad!

From Nov/Dec2013

Halloween

This year we celebrated Halloween with Merida (the princess from Brave) and a furious lion.

From Sept/Oct2013

We went downtown for trick-or-treating in the afternoon.  It was a lot of fun to walk around with friends and see all the costumes.

From Sept/Oct2013

After dinner the girls walked around our neighborhood too.  It was a slow night for our street, so they ended up with lots of candy.

From Sept/Oct2013

From Sept/Oct2013

It was a fun night.

Pumpkin carving

From Sept/Oct2013

Tonight was pumpkin carving night at our house.  Annikka requested a ghost and Eila asked for a cyclops.  So our families' official pumpkin carver (aka Joel) went to work.  Eila supervised, with her usual stern face.

From Sept/Oct2013

Annikka was happy to help clean up the seeds because she now remembers how much she enjoys eating the roasted pumpkin seeds.

From Sept/Oct2013

From Sept/Oct2013

And she even convinced Eila it was fun so she joined in.

From Sept/Oct2013

Joel putting the finishing touches on Annikka's ghost,

From Sept/Oct2013

and on Eila's cyclops.

From Sept/Oct2013

Good work, Joel.  The pumpkins are ready for Halloween.  Tomorrow we'll roast the seeds.

From Sept/Oct2013

The Magic Tree House

We took the girls to see the Magic Tree House at the Oregon Children's Theater today.  Annikka's kindergarten teacher had read her class several of the books, so she was really excited to see the play.

From Sept/Oct2013

But when we got there, Eila's excitement was for the whole experience was unmistakable.  She couldn't stop smiling before the play started.  And then she was memorized by the action on the stage.

From Sept/Oct2013

From Sept/Oct2013

It was a great afternoon together, and we'll look forward to another play soon.

No front teeth

From Sept/Oct2013

Annikka lost her other front tooth today! She's likes her holey smile.

From Sept/Oct2013